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Why Shares of Diamond Foods, Inc. Surged

Is this meaningful? Or just another movement?

Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.

What: Shares of Diamond Foods, (UNKNOWN:DMND.DL) were looking tasty to investors today, increasing as much as 11% after the company reported second-quarter earnings last night.

So what: The maker of Kettle Chips and other snack foods posted an adjusted profit of $0.09 a share, $0.01 better than estimates, and up from $0.05 a year ago, while revenue was essentially flat, at $220.6 million. That figure still beat the consensus at $216.8 million, however. The 10.8% growth in Snacks sales was offset by a 10.1% decline in Nuts sales, though the change in product mix helped send gross margin up 250 basis points, to 25.4%. CEO Brian Driscoll said he expected further headwinds in the Nuts segment in the second half of the year, but was confident the company's multi-year turnaround strategy is on track.

Now what: In its outlook for the remainder of the year, management only said it expects to deliver an increase in adjusted EBITDA despite higher tree nut costs. In the previous quarter, adjusted EBITDA increased 24%. The improvement in Snacks sales is certainly a bright sign for Diamond, and the company seems to be making progress in its turnaround after it was badly damaged by an accounting scandal in 2011. Shares have more than doubled in the past year, and should keep moving higher if the company comes through on its EBITDA guidance.

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